01: To Scrub the Future: Zapatistas Seedbed - dec 26th

 

To Scrub the Future: 

A Seedbed of Resistance and the Call to "The Common"

A Presentation for the Global Solidarity Movement with the Zapatista Communities: 

Friends, family, and sisters and brothers of the Americanas Zapatistas

Scrubbing the Future

Friends, companions, and sisters of the Americanas Zapatistas and all those standing in the currents of global solidarity: imagine a room where thirty-eight different geographies meet, not to draft a policy paper, but to plant a seed [02:58].

 We are not here to talk about "saving" a world that is already crumbling; we are here to talk about what it means to build a new one from the soil up.

In this recent gathering of the Zapatista Semillero (the Seedbed), titled "Of Pyramids, of Stories, of Loves and, Of Course, Heartbreaks," the Zapatista leadership—including Subcomandante Insurgente Moisés and the Captain—delivered a message that is both a warning and a profound invitation to those of us in the North and South who believe in autonomy.

The Two Storms

We often hear about the "crisis" of our times, but the Zapatistas describe it more vividly: we are facing two simultaneous storms [01:10:50]. 

The first is the "Mother Pyramid" of the capitalist system—a machine of destruction that functions automatically and cannot be humanized, paused, or controlled by AI [54:27].

 It is a system that views the world as a reordered territory to be depopulated and rebuilt for profit [39:44].

The second storm is the reaction of Mother Earth herself [01:44:06].

 This isn't just "climate change" in an academic sense; it is the physical wounding of the earth for minerals and oil, a "bestiality" that the Zapatistas argue no government or "civilized" institution can stop. [01:42:22].

The Syndrome of the "Magical Detergent"

Perhaps the most stinging and necessary part of this message for our solidarity communities is what the Captain calls the "Chaca-Chaca" syndrome [44:55]. 

He recalls an old soap advertisement where a detergent promised to turn any bucket into an electric washing machine just by making the sound—chaca-chaca [45:31].

He challenges us: are we waiting for a political leader, a "progressive" government, or a new party to be our magical detergent? [48:10]. 

We sit by our "buckets" (our organizations, our movements) and give the "benefit of the doubt" to institutions, hoping they will do the work for us [49:04]. 

But as the Zapatistas remind us, there is no magic. If you want the clothes clean, you have to "tallar"—you have to scrub [49:33].

 You have to struggle,

 and 

you have to organize in common.

From Property to "The Common"

The Zapatistas are moving into a new phase of their journey: the transition from "autonomous rebel municipalities" to the "Common" (el común) [01:10:34]. 

This is a radical departure from the concept of private property. Subcomandante Moisés shares that by looking back at the history of their ancestors—those who lived before money was "the thing that gives life"—they rediscovered the power of the montón, or the "common" [01:36:24].

Their ancestors didn't just escape the plantation owners individually; they escaped in groups, defending themselves and working the land as one. This is the blueprint for the "day after" the capitalist collapse: a world where we say "No to property, yes to the common" [01:47:42].

 It is a call to govern ourselves not through a small group of "experts" in a pyramid, but as a whole people who watch over one another [02:08:13].

Loves and Heartbreaks

The title of this talk refers to "loves and heartbreaks," and it carries a beautiful lesson for our movements. In the Zapatista worldview, love is what makes us "complete" (cabal) [01:04:01]. 

But love isn't just about couples; it’s about the relationship between ourselves, nature, and the "different other."

They tell us that "making a love" is synonymous with "making another world" [01:05:33].

 When that vision fails or remains static, we become "incomplete," and the "heartbreak" of the system returns. This cycle of completing and incompleting is what creates history. It’s why there is a "tomorrow"—because something is always missing, and that missing piece is our collective action [01:05:51].

A Call to the Americanas Zapatistas

To our communities in the United States and across the Americas: the Zapatistas aren't asking for our "academic alibis" or our social media trends [18:37]

They are asking us to look at our own histories—to find the "common" in our own geographies [02:11:48].

They don't want to export their theory; they want us to practice our own. As Subcomandante Moisés says, "We don't want to study how the system dominates us anymore... we are worried about what the change is, what is the new thing we are going to make, and let it be practical" [02:13:23].

So, let us stop waiting for the "magical detergent." Let us pick up our own buckets, find our own común, and start scrubbing the future together. Because in the end, it’s not money that gives life; it’s the bridge we build between our yesterday and our today to give birth to a tomorrow [01:06:07].

Video Source: 

SEMILLERO “DE PIRÁMIDES, DE HISTORIAS, DE AMORES Y, CLARO, DESAMORES”, 26 de diciembre 2025

CA - ASSEMBLY BILL: 1340 has passed!

AB 1340: Transportation network company drivers: labor relations

Source: https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/bills/ca_202520260ab1340

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Existing law declares the public policy of the state regarding labor organization, including, among other things, that it is necessary for a worker to have full freedom of association, self-organization, and designation of representatives of their own choosing, to negotiate the terms and conditions of their employment, and to be free from the interference, restraint, or coercion of employers of labor, or their agents, in the designation of such representatives or in self-organization or in other concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection.

Existing law,

 the Protect App-Based Drivers and Services Act, 

added by Proposition 22, as approved by the voters at the November 3, 2020, statewide general election (the initiative), categorizes app-based drivers for network companies, as defined, as independent contractors if certain conditions are met. Existing law requires, among other things, that the network company provide a health care subsidy to qualifying app-based drivers, provide a minimum level of compensation for app-based drivers, and not restrict app-based drivers from working in any other lawful occupation or business. Existing case law holds that specified provisions of the initiative are invalid on separation of powers grounds; however, the court severed the unconstitutional provisions, allowing the rest of the initiative to remain in effect.

Existing law also establishes

 the Public Employment Relations Board,

(board) in state government as a means of resolving disputes and enforcing the statutory duties and rights of specified public employers and employees under various acts regulating collective bargaining. Existing law vests the board with jurisdiction to enforce certain provisions over charges of unfair practices for represented employees.

This bill,

 The Transportation Network Company Drivers Labor Relations Act,

would establish that transportation network company (TNC) drivers have the right to form, join, and participate in the activities of TNC driver organizations, to bargain through representatives of their own choosing, to engage in concerted activities for the purpose of bargaining or other mutual aid or protection, and to refrain from such activities. The bill would require the board to enforce these provisions.

This bill would require all TNCs to submit certain information every quarter, including information identifying and related personal work information about TNC drivers to the board in a list format, as prescribed. The bill would establish various procedures governing the certification and decertification of TNC driver organizations for purposes of representing drivers in the collective bargaining process. In this connection, the bill would require the board to determine if an entity is a TNC driver organization, as prescribed, and make certain determinations as to whether a specific organization has been designated as the bargaining representative for TNC drivers pursuant to an election process. The bill would establish various notice requirements, conditions, and timelines governing the representation of TNC drivers. The bill would, among other things, require TNCs and certified driver bargaining organizations to negotiate in good faith pursuant to the act, as described, and would set forth procedures for mediation and arbitration for purposes of reaching a sectoral agreement. The bill would set forth procedures and guidelines for the board to approve or disapprove sectoral agreements. The bill would require a TNC that was not a covered TNC when a sectoral agreement took effect but subsequently became a covered TNC to be bound by all terms of the sectoral agreement, as specified.

This bill would make it an unfair practice for a TNC, an agent of a TNC, or a multicompany committee, as defined, to fail or refuse to negotiate in good faith with a certified driver bargaining organization, among other things. The bill would also make it an unfair practice for a certified driver bargaining organization or its agents to fail to negotiate in good faith with a TNC or multicompany committee, among other things. The bill would set forth unfair practice charge procedures and remedies for those practices. The bill would define terms for purposes of the act, make the provisions of the act severable, and make related legislative policy statements.

Existing law, 

the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act,

 generally requires all meetings of a state body to be open and public.

This bill would exempt any meeting of a mediator or arbitrator with any party or group to the negotiations process and the mediation and arbitration processes in the act from the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting act.

Existing law,

 the California Public Records Act, 

requires state and local agencies to make their records available for public inspection, unless an exemption from disclosure applies.

This bill would exclude from public disclosure information regarding TNC drivers that is submitted to the board pursuant to the act, except as specified.

Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest.

This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.